Jul 1, 2005 12:00 PM

Gone Missing

It’s not just that information wants to be free. Information can be as slippery as Steve McQueen in The Great Escape. This year, a spate of “dataspills” – losses of personal records – has hit banks, universities, and corporations. Though some of the 5.5 million missing files can be traced to hackers, more than half […]

It's not just that information wants to be free. Information can be as slippery as Steve McQueen in The Great Escape. This year, a spate of "dataspills" - losses of personal records - has hit banks, universities, and corporations. Though some of the 5.5 million missing files can be traced to hackers, more than half of the losses can be attributed to mere carelessness - as in some shmuck lost a backup tape or had his PC stolen. The moral of the story? It doesn't take a Unix whiz to screw up your accounts.

Ameritrade
Date reported: April 20
Number of records lost: 200,000
Type of data: Social Security numbers, brokerage account info
Cause: Lost backup tape

DSW Shoe Warehouse
Date reported: March 8
Number of records lost: 1,500,000
Type of data: Credit card numbers with purchase amounts, some driver's license numbers
Cause: Hack attack

UC Berkeley
Date reported: March 11
Number of records lost: 98,000
Type of data: Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth
Cause: Stolen computer

San Jose Medical Group
Date reported: March 28
Number of records lost: 185,000
Type of data: Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, medical information
Cause: Stolen computer

Polo Ralph Lauren
Date reported: April 14
Number of records lost: 180,000
Type of data: Credit card numbers
Cause: Hack attack

LexisNexis
Date reported: March 9
Number of records lost: 310,000
Type of data: Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers
Cause: Database break-in

AOL Time Warner
Date reported: May 2
Number of records lost: 600,000
Type of data: Names, Social Security numbers
Cause: Lost backup tape

Bank of America
Date reported: February 25
Number of records lost: 1,200,000
Type of data: Federal employee addresses, Social Security numbers, credit reports
Cause: Lost backup tape

Total Data Loss:

Records reported lost in the first five months of 2005: 5,520,000
Records lost to hackers: 2,029,600
Records lost to missing or stolen media or fraud: 3,490,400

- Kevin Poulsen

credit: Erik Pawassar